VESTRY BIOS

Kimberly Axtell
My family (Todd and I) have been members of ECA for over 12 years. When we began dating, we also began looking for a church home for the two of us. A mutual friend suggested ECA. We were impressed by the people, and by the fact that it was the only Episcopal church at the time which offered weekly Bible Study. We settled into church
life here. I began teaching high school Sunday School, serving on vestry, as lay chalice bearer and lay reader, and both of us joined choir. About eight years ago, I felt the call of God to serve the church in a larger capacity. But I was aware that my small treasure of Bible knowledge was inadequate to the task – I needed a new set of tools and a larger toolbox. So I enrolled at the local Episcopal seminary, the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, while still working full time. There I studied church history, the Bible, church structure, ethics, spirituality, and so on. And along the way I became interested in the interface between science and religion, and continue to ask the question, “what makes us human?” After graduation, I have been looking for ways to serve ECA. Serving on vestry is just one way of giving back to the community that supported me through seminary, and heeding the call of God.

Kelli Casale
Kelli Casale, has been married to Matt Gunderson now for 2.5 years. They have three children between them including our Anything Goes choreographer P.J. (21) and Alyce (17) Gallego, and Lauren Gunderson (7). Kelli, P.J., and Alyce started attending ECA in 1992. Kelli is one of ECA’s Cursillistas. After making her own Cursillo she has worked several weekends giving much of her time and energy to that endeavor. Kelli’s day job is for the City of Mountain View as a Code Enforcement Officer. She loves to cook and hike with her dog, Cody. Besides the vestry, Kelli is currently serving ECA on our Altar Guild. She is most passionate about ECA because of the fellowship and the support within our community for one another.

Hank De Voss
As I began my fourth year of ECA affiliation with ECA,no one was more surprised than I at my having been given the opportunity to serve on the vestry. Debbie Bishop first invited my wife to ECA and I tagged along after her many glowing descriptions of her reception and experiences at the church. Once having started to attend, I was enthralled by the exuberant, loving fellowship and the high level of multi-tasking participation which are so much an integral part of this wonderful congregation. Collectively, you are a great treasure in the many ways you serve God. A few things you may want to know about this new vestry member are:

• My precious wife of 59 years long ago presented me with three great children, Mark, Scot, and Suzette. We have only one super special granddaughter, Julia.
• Although I retired in 1991, I wore a General Electric symbol on my forehead for 34 plus years working as an engineer or manager in many facets of their nuclear business. This was followed by 6 1/2 years at Lockheed/Sunnyvale in their facility construction efforts.
• To this point in time, my involvement at ECA has been mostly helping pete Mayo, in a small way, with facility maintenance and as an 11AM service usher. Other occasional sign-ups for things such as the annual Thanksgiving " turkey wrestle".
• Know that I will try my best to justify the trust you have placed in me to serve God and the mission of this church!

Susie Ferguson
Susie Ferguson, married to Jerry for 32 years, came to ECA in 1981. They have two sons, Jason, 28, and Josh, 26. Susie is very seldom at a loss of something to do. She has been known to even walk and talk in her sleep. Currently she works with Jerry and Josh in their family real estate business serving both residential and commercial real estate clients. Susie also works in an outside sales capacity for her brothers’ and sister’s marketing and printing business. If that isn’t enough, she is also serving as president of the Phi Mu Fraternity alumnae group in this area. In her free time she studies piano and voice under John Leslie and participates faithfully in a small group Bible study. Susie loves reading, writing notes and articles, cooking, and party planning. Her greatest passion for ECA continues to be growing a strong, spiritual community with a generous heart for giving & serving others.

Pat Fox
I was a single parent with 10 year old twin boys, and I longed to be connected to a Christian community. ECA was close to my home so I chose to visit here first. The ECA Rector, Nolan Redman, made us feel very welcome and I found refuge in this Church. Soon after arriving, I was sponsored to a Cursillo weekend which was a life changing experience for me. I felt the power of unconditional love from people that I had never met. By joining the pot luck & Bible study on Wednesday evenings at the Rectory, I grew in my faith and my interest in the Bible. Good food, good fellowship, sharing, caring and faith, what a combination, and that experience grounded me in this community. Since joining this church I soon learned my early experiences were just a hint of what this community is all about.

I have been fortunate to have served in a number of ways: on the Vestry a couple of times and I worked one year with the youth group while Ginger Redman was the Youth Director. I have served on Joint Venture Board a couple of times. I have enjoyed participating on a number of Discernment Committees for people in the process of exploring their spiritual journey. I served a few times as a Turkey Lady for the Montgomery Meals project at Thanksgiving. I am ever grateful that I was able to share each Thursday afternoon with Carol Hoyt once she became housebound. I brought Communion from our church and shared with her the service and what was happening at the church that she and her husband James helped to establish. I look forward to working together with Kelli Casale on the Pastoral Care Committee on the Vestry .

Ron Howie
Ron Howie, married to Melinda for 13 years, came to ECA in 1992. He has 4 kids and 6 grandkids. Ron is a Union Electrician, who has offered ECA much of his expertise all the years he has been with us. This is the second time he has willingly served on our vestry. Ron loves to remodel and always has some project underway. He enjoys hiking and travel when he has the opportunity. Ron is a strong Christian man who has great passions for our youth, Cursillo, and Montgomery Meals at ECA.

Andy Kerr
Andy Kerr and his wife, Francie, have been members of ECA since 1975. They have two daughters, Heather and Laurie. They moved into the Almaden Valley from Southern California. The Vicar of the church in Granada Hills where Andy had been Music Director and Youth Leader for 10 years had gone to Episcopal Theological Seminary at the same time as Father Mike, who was the Rector of ECA in 1975. Andy had left Lockheed in Burbank to join a US Army aeronautics research lab at Ames Research Center where he worked in helicopter and vertical takeoff research until he retired in January 2007. Music has been an important part of his life. He started working as a church organist when he was 15, minored in music at college, and spent over 37 years working most Sundays to lead music for worship, which included becoming the first paid Director of Music at ECA in 1977. In the mid 90’s, Andy’s Army job required so much travel that he took a sabbatical from his ECA job, which has lasted ever since. During the 32 years that he has been at ECA, he has been active in many aspects of church life, including serving on the vestry during the 80’s, having experience serving on the vestry at a previous parish. Retirement from a day job that involved traveling almost every week has provided an opportunity for Andy to become more involved in the broader life of ECA.

Jim McPherson
Jim McPherson, married to Bonnie for 16 years, came to ECA in 2004. They have two children, Caitlin, 14, and Tyler, 11. Jim is a Senior Program Manager with the County Public Health Department’s Emergency Medical Services Agency. (Now there’s a mouthful!) Jim enjoys working on his house or so he must, having worked on it for 13 years! He’s always on the run keeping up with his kid’s many recreational and other activities. We see him on the run, too, at church being the coordinator of our youth for Youth Sunday and serving as the vestry rep to the Christian Education and Youth Committee for the past two years. A man of many wonderful talents and high energy Jim finds ECA to be a welcoming, warm, embracing, and supportive family. We are lucky to have him and his family part of ours.

Tim Miller
Tim Miller, married to Donna for almost 29 years, came to ECA after they moved into their house in the Greystone area in September of 1996. They have two daughters, Jennifer, 26, and Danielle, 25. They now are legal guardians of their two grandsons, Mason, 7, and Tyler, 6. Tim keeps pretty busy with his job at a start up company called Intacet, working on websites, video production, playing his music (guitar), and being a Cub Scout Den Leader. His great passion for ECA revolves around our music ministry in which he hopes to contribute in new ways.

Sharon Mills
Sharon Mills grew up in Denver, Colorado. She married Jon in 1983 and since then they have lived in Toole, Utah, outside Washington, D.C., Fort Collins, Colorado and San Diego, California. When they joined ECA in 2002 they were moving here from Pennsylvania. Sharon is a pediatric nurse practitioner and currently works providing home and hospice care for kids with life threatening illnesses. It is amazing work that has both tested and strengthened her faith. She loves to knit, sew, and cook. She and Jon attended Cursillo in 2003 and she worked on the team the following year. ECA has been a wonderful “home” for her family.

Sam Sarmecanic
Sam Sarmecanic was born in Iran to a minority Christian family. His name is Shamshon, which is Aramaic or Hebrew for Samson, and for short we call him Sam. For over 41 years he has been married to Linda, who is one of ECA’s “Brits.” Sam and Linda immigrated to the USA in 1979 from Iran because of the Islamic revolution of that year. In 1980 they joined ECA and during that decade Sam participated in Bible study groups and served on the vestry while Linda headed up our Prayer Vine. They have two children, James and Leila, who both were active at ECA in their youth. Sam believes that being a member of ECA is one of the most wonderful things in their lives. They have felt love and acceptance from the beautiful people around them who are ready to serve the Lord and not judge. Sam has grown in his Christian walk through worship, Bible Study Fellowship, and currently a small Bible study group he has attended for the last three years. This has been a very special experience learning to love each other in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wishes more groups like this would form in our church to make us an even closer community united in Christian spirit and Christ’s love. Sam retired a year ago from a long hard working life and now enjoys painting, music, poetry, and more time to serve his church. (He has two grandchildren he could easily be talked into telling you all about sometime.)

Steve Wing
Steve Wing, happily married to Joyce for 27 years and better known as Taylor and Evelyn’s parents, has been coming to ECA since 1990. Both children have been very involved at ECA over the years, especially as Acolyte Masters. Taylor is now 23 and a senior at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Evelyn is now 20 and a junior at Texas A&M University. Steve keeps busy at his job as a Systems Analyst at the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The Wing’s home is not really an empty nest since Joyce’s Dad, Col. Ben Heckemeyer, lives with them and has now for 14 years. He’s 96 and still going strong. This is Steve’s second turn on the Vestry. He served in the late 90’s for three years, two being the Junior Warden. Steve enjoys coordinating the Turkey Drive for Montgomery Meals each year. He prefers working with his hands and acting on his faith through action versus being vocal. He serves our community as the strong, silent type. He hopes to contribute and build his faith through constructive and productive actions.

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